Placed in Harm’s Way, Unarmed

When a Marine Rifleman, of any rank, painstakingly trained in the Art of Combat Marksmanship, starts believing and spouting anti-gun drivel, it is a yet another sign that this Civilization is in serious decline.

Secretary Mattis said last week:

“Most active-duty troops along our border do not carry firearms.

When they were tasked with protecting CBP (Customs/Border Protection), they will probably use shields and batons.”

“Shields and batons?”

Our glorious US Troops “protect” our borders with shields and batons? Once again, what is most disturbing is this conspicuous, and all-consuming, lack of trust in our magnificent troopers.

We have been long-assured, ad nauseam, that these troopers have received, at extravagant expense, the best weapons training in the world. Accordingly, they can competently go armed anywhere, we’re told.

But obviously, from Mattis on down, no one really believes that.

The uncomfortable truth is: They are all afraid of guns. Even our officers and staff NCOs are deployed, placed in harm’s way, unarmed. They don’t even carry pistols.

A disgrace, and an extremely dangerous one.

“When you cannot get a loaded gun in your hands within five seconds of perceiving a deadly threat, you're submerged in self-deception, and the fact that you have a gun ‘somewhere in your life' is probably meaningless and irrelevant.

The first five seconds are more important than the next five hours.

All our training revolves around those critical “first five seconds.” ~ Farnam

/John

About John Farnam & Defense Training International, Inc As a defensive weapons and tactics instructor John Farnam will urge you, based on your own beliefs, to make up your mind in advance as to what you would do when faced with an imminent lethal threat. You should, of course, also decide what preparations you should make in advance if any. Defense Training International wants to make sure that their students fully understand the physical, legal, psychological, and societal consequences of their actions or in-actions.

It is our duty to make you aware of certain unpleasant physical realities intrinsic to the Planet Earth. Mr. Farnam is happy to be your counselor and advisor. Visit: www.defense-training.com

45 thoughts on “Placed in Harm’s Way, Unarmed”

I remember that 45 years ago the barracks “Charge of Quarters” NCO had a 1911 on his hip at Basic Training at Fort Ord and again at my base in Germany. That’s just the way it was. I wonder if they still do.

It is hard to believe they actually sent the troops to the border without guns. Maybe Mad Dog was not a good choice to oversee the military. I realize they are terrified of law suits and the left but it does not speak well for the troops if they think they can’t trust the troops to obey and respect the position of our government. Yes, they should defend our border but not with their pants down to their knees. With this attitude we are weaker than a kitten and couldn’t win a war if it was handed to us. It will take more than economy to make America great again. Standing up to invaders would be a positive step. Look at what a toilet they have made of Tijuana and that is just a preview of what they will do here. Turn them back and say no to herds of illegals.

Due to the Political Climate Today ! Any Accidental or Other , Shooting By Our Military at the Border would Bring Total Kaos . Our Military are Trained in Hand to Hand Combat ! Well ready , for Defence against Someone with a Knife or other non- firearm . Shields and Batons are the Right Tools for the Job at Hand ! If Firearms become Necessary at some point They will be at Hand, and Ready ( Locked & Loaded ) to Defend Our Borders ! Give Our Troops some Respect ! THEIR NOT MURDERERS ! They will not Open Fire without Proper and Due Cause ! They Volunteered to Defend this Country , it’s Borders and Our Constitution . Very Few in this Country Have ! So You Critics of what is happening with Our Military ! How About Putting Your BUTT on the Line ! GIVE OUR TROOPS THEIR PROPER DUE !

Oldmarine >>> Dr. Strangelove Unfortunately that is true but if you travel the world and get away from limited thinking you will find that communications doesn’t require any of that. It is good to known about all the requirements if you wish to Document or Record things but for communications it is not a requirement. Just travel to another country and you will be amazed that communicating requires only verbal and sign language to communicate. Travel to another part of the US where dialects are in full force and you will have to improvise your communication skills requiring none of the rules of the language. The situation requires that you adapt and be successful in making your self understood. You must understand that people on any blog or comment program comes from many places and each has their own way of communicating. Just something to think about is that punctuation can sometimes change the meaning of what is trying to be conveyed. As the Corps teaches Adapt and succeed. Semper Fi

The author is completely wrong. General Mattis is supporting the President in the best way possible. The video of the caravan rushing the border and being dispersed with non lethal tear gas makes the presidents point against illegal immigration. If our troops had shot any of these people, the left would have had a field day! There would be investigations, subpoena of troops, ets. The optics would have been terrible. Noe President Trump can take some military funds and start in on building the wall!

Simple solution. If you are an illegal alien 200 meters from the U.S. border you get a cautionary round over your head. Within 100 meters you earn a shot to the torso. Post signs in Spanish and English advising same all along the border. If you ignore the signs then it is the fault of the illegal alien, not the military. Illegal aliens have to be STOPPED, NOW, regardless of the feelings of the left or the reporting by the corrupt mainstream media.

I am not sure that I agree with you, but it would solve the problem and is a more than proper way to repel an invasion. I will agree that we need to stop disarming our military. Every single member of the military (with the exception of Navy personnel not assigned to shore duty) should be issued appropriate firearms for his rank and duty station. They should also be authorized to carry them at all times while on duty. I know you didn’t say that but do you disagree?

Oldmarine >>> Clark Ken I see you have no experience at all with crowd control. In the 50’s I was Stationed in Japan and was trained in Baton use. I can take on any one NOT armed with a gun with shield and baton and take their name, even if the have a knife or club. You have no idea how good and effective a baton can be even against multiple attackers or animals. While in Japan I witnessed .the most effective crowd control method, that is water canon because you simply wash away the demonstrators. very effective against the most impossible and violent demonstrators. Don;t knock something you know nothing about because it makes you look like a fool. About thirty Marines with shields and batons could control approximately 300 people, I have seen this and if you were in the crowd YOU can bet your azz that you will feel fear and run away. with your tail between your legs. because Marines love a good fight and look forward to physical encounters. You live in a glass house and you are being watched, good luck with that.

If you travel to a lot of these third world toilets, you will find the police are armed and the military is armed and these people will shoot you because they are not that well trained or that smart. The only thing they know is kill first don’t worry about the questions.

TM’s comment above is I believe correct. Several hundred unarmed civilians rushing across the border certainly looks like a deadly threat to me, and would warrant a judicial use of force, even deadly force to protect our troops who belong where they are against civilian invaders (what else would you call them) who do not belong there. All this said, the real issue is the problem of granting asylum or visas to anyone we don’t want in our country. And why would we want these folks in our country. Whatever problems they have where they come from are not ours and they need to solve their problems in their country, not be bringing them to ours. Whatever rational, moral or legal, that allows foreigners to claim a right to entry here needs to be changed or amended. American laws and civil rights are for Americans, not foreigners. Anyone who enters this country without permission is a criminal and needs to be immediately shipped back from whence they came. Period. No hearings, no detention, no civil rights, no lawyers, no nothing. Just a free ride in the back of an open truck back to Mexico.

This is to TM. I am a veteran. I carried the M 14 many years ago. Your comment is spot on. A standing army in time of peace on US soil is anathema to our founders’ principles. Gen. Mathis is doing the correct thing. We may have a border conflict, but it is not war despite the overuse of this hyperbole. Lets not everyone jump on blah blah phobia as the reason for our warriors being unarmed in this situation.

Problematically for your argument, Allan, is the fact that those “civilians crossing the border” – who vastly outnumber the soldiers at any single location – launch dangerous objects (rocks, chunks of metal or concrete, etc.) at our soldiers… who have every right to defend themselves (and our country) from attacks. But our soldiers are denied the practical capability to effect that defense.

An invasion force of 7,000 armed men [even simple blunt-force objects can, indeed, constitute the use of deadly force!] – who outnumber the horde’s women and children by 12 to 1 – assaults our country, its citizens, and its soldiers/border guards at numerous points along the border. This invasion force is well-organized (with significant and expensive logistical support along the entire route from Guatemala) and is paid for by at least one identifiable (liberal/leftist) organization. [Remember our oath? “… all enemies, foreign and domestic…” That oath is permanent – no expiration date. By any sane definition, liberals who intend to change this country from the Constitutional Republic that the Founders designed to a socialist regime ARE those domestic enemies.]

I, too, am an old veteran (who trained with an M-14) – and I seriously wonder what could possibly lead to a conclusion that such a violent undertaking is not premeditated, and is thus not an act of war? Your measuring stick seems to desperately need recalibration.

@JoeUS, Yep, we can win the battle by shooting every one of those unarmed, invading, sons of bitches, and then loose the war for the suburban moms’ votes. The organizers are our real enemies. The pollos are just useful idiots. We need to eliminate our real enemies.

The political climate of today’s America is a mess. We have brothers against brothers. Our Military leaders are constantly undermining our President. This is primarily due to what people think is the “right” thing to do. We as a country seem to think that the rights of one are more important than the many. Our Congress and Senate have such a distaste, no a hate, for our President that they would cutoff their nose to spite their face. Our country is not necessarily in a spiral downward, but we are certainly spinning out of control. It seems that our leaders are more interested in being “rock stars” instead of doing their jobs, that was to protect our great country and to follow lawful orders given by the President. But they would rather be perceived as the Generals who stood up to the bully. We need to get back to basics and that may not be as easy as one would think. Whether people want to admit it or not Donald Trump is our President. Certain peoples like Mr Obama, Mrs Clinton, Sen Schumer (sp?) need to stop trying to get their faces on TV and in the press, talking about how the President is wrong about almost everything and start getting behind him and showing some support.

I agree 100%. Thank you for your CORRECT Observations. Obama, Clinton, and Schumer are left wing Marxists, and will NEVER get behind or support Trump, no matter what he does. He could cure cancer tomorrow, and they would say, SO WHAT, what about heart disease. They HATE HIM, PERIOD.

Between his love of trannies, to his disobedience to Trump’s order to deescalate Syria, to this bizarre fear of deploying U.S. troops to the U.S. border to actually defend the U.S. border, Matthis is making himself a disgrace.

While I typically agree with Farnham, I believe he is missing the point on this one. Mattis is not one to be swayed by political posturing when it comes to the well being of those under his command. He was not in favor of using troops to perform a domestic law enforcement function, i.e. patrolling the borders. He is also acutely aware of the limitations of the Posse Comitatus Act and to his credit as a career military man, is loathe to violate it. With an eye on potential (and likely) Congressional review of this use of the military on the border, he probably does not want to aggravate the situation by handing out loaded weapons for use on US soil without congressional approval. This has nothing to do with gun control, hoplophobia, or a disdain for the well being of our troops. He is trying to save the President from himself, acting via unilateral Presidential Orders that would blow up in his face were troops to fire on an illegal border crossing. I submit the international hand-wringing over the use of tear gas at the border as an example. If they had used a 240 Bravo with associated dead civilians laying in pools of blood, the Trump administration would have lost all control of the Border initiative and more. Mattis knows all to well what happens when situations go hot, and has worked to avoid unnecessary bloodshed throughout his career. Alternatively, he is a master at the application of necessary bloodshed. If he thinks something is a bad idea, we would do well to heed his warning.

I do not believe the troops would fire on unarmed people. Only if one believed their or someone else’s life were threatened. They are trained to know what to do. I don’t go anywhere unarmed, I don’t believe our US military should either.

They still have a right to defend themselves and guard the border. These kids volunteered for their service they are well trained so they should know what they are doing. So yeah I trust them to do the right thing. Give them their weapons and let them go to work. It is touching ain’t it.

Oldmarine >>> Hubcap The solution to the Border situation is Water Cannon trucks like the Japanese use. If you notice Japan controls riots and demonstrations with ease using them. I have witnessed that in Japan and it works better than anything, just washes away all problems in minutes. We were back-up with bayonets mounted and covered ready to do damage if needed but the Japanese cops with their water cannons cleared the streets of thousands in minutes. The Japanese preps usually lock arms a lot to make the demonstrations and riots a solid mass but Water Cannons solve that problem in a very short time and the only harm to the preps is they get soaked and come out a little cleaner. OORAH….Semper Fi

Posse Comitatus has nothing to do with defense of the border against foreigners. It is about use of the military for internal police functions, and specifically was enacted as a response to southern military occupation during the Reconstruction era.

According to various sources, the Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law, the purpose of which is to limit the powers of the federal government in using federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies WITHIN the United States. I do not and NEVER have understood how anyone could ever contort and construe this law to curtail the use and capabilities of our Republic’s military forces, at the border, in defense of our country and national sovereignty. In other words, keep the guns pointed OUT across our border, against invaders. In support of this mission parameter, The War Powers Act of 1973 specifies that the commander-in-chief role gives the President power to repel attacks against the United States.

What I see Mattis doing is attempting to walk a very fine line in observance of WOKE PC sensitivities and a hostile MSM, while still maintaining his focus on formulating “three ways to kill” our nation’s enemies, however and whenever they present themselves. I suspect too, that he’s fully in agreement with Patton’s quote, “I’d rather have a German Division in front of me than a French one behind.” Only in Mattis’ case, I suspect his concern is more about the politicians on his “SIX”. God help him because you know the Democrat-Socialists won’t!

This is a tough call for Mattis and Trump. Look at all the crap over using pepper spray, which was justified and BTW used by the Nobel Peace Prize “winner” Obama(nobody cared). However, how does Posse Comitatus apply to a border invasion. At some point lethal force will have to be used. A wall could prevent that. Also, the National Guard is not bound by Posse Comitatus at all.

Generally, I think TM explained it correctly. I will also add that our military is for engaging an armed enemy. The would be illegal aliens are indeed invaders of sorts, but not of the military engagement variety. However, I have not heard from anyone else about using our troops in this way to protect the borders as being illegal.

Proctor, The rule is obey your orders and question whether those orders were legal or not … later and in the proper forum. Thank God that our officers are intelligent, educated, well trained and have cool heads.

Leftism is definitely trying to destroy this country, it is the greatest Democratic Republic ever created and I defy anyone to name a better one! You won’t be able to. I refer you to what I said above and the post above it talking about send a round over their heads at 200 meters. After further thinking I agree with Clark Kent about what is needed, our situation is getting dire and strong action to regain control of the border is needed. Next we need to take on Radical Leftism in all it’s forms. I love the United States of America and will fight to keep it strong and free!

Kinda makes me think that nobody in DC, even the top brass in the ‘E’ ring at The Pentagon, really trusts the average American, whether civilian or military. No surprise there. No surprise at the idiocy, either.

Kind of reminds me of a trucker’s strike in the late 70’s. Gov. Fob James called out the National Guard to escort convoys across the state- Alabama- . I had joined after active duty and as prior service vet was one of the troops activated, Most of us showed up prepared at the local State Troopers hub as we thought we’d be riding with empty weapons for show. We were surprised and relieved when we were issued our weapons along with ammunition. To my knowledge no shots were fired by any Guard unit during the entire deployment.

I’m not sure which officers and staff NCO’s this author is referring to. I’ve been deployed four times to the middle East and I carried a weapon eveytime. Sometimes a rifle and a pistol depending what I was doing. And yes before you ask I was a “staff” officer for three of those four deployments. The only time I felt uncomfortable was when Iraqi and Afghan troops we were with carried weapons because you never knew when an insider attack would happen.